After 27,000 miles on my ‘00 VFR in the last two years, it’s time for new brake lines, fluid, rotors and pads—especially as the lines appear to be original. My Speed Bleeder order arrived today, and I’m presently trying to decide on the lines. Galfer and Spiegler both appear to make very nice lines—has anyone installed either of these, and what were your thoughts about them? I’m a bit unenthused about Galfers choice to run lines over the front fender, rather than using the stock hardware; otherwise, they’re somewhat—ahem—CHEAPER than Spieglers offering. Any thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Why are you replacing the rotors? They "should" last the life of the bike unless you are wearing out pads or getting a vibration. I've owned a VFR 5th gen for 15 years (actually own 2), I only flush out the lines properly and replace pads when needed. I have almost 92,000KM and only replaced teh pads twice now. Sorry, never installed Galfers, seems like a bit of an overkill.....:O) EBC brand I usually can get over 50K out of a set......
I installed the Galfers on my '99 and do like them, but share you feelings about running them over the fender, but it isn't too bad. Just be prepared for some solid stopping after years of those spongy rubber lines. You can probably wrap your hand around the brake line, pull the brake, and feel the rubber line flex. With the new lines all that movement is going to the brakes. I also don't think you need to replace your rotors, unless you're hammering the brakes at every stop. Mine have nearly 45,000 miles and are fine. No sense spending money for no good reason, unless it makes the bike look better.
My rotors have 47,000 to 48,000 miles on them and look fine, so far as I’m concerned. I believe someone at the dealership (who owns a very tricked-out VFR) suggested that the rotors be replaced along with the pads. That may have been due to his bias towards lower rotating weight (he also told me that Euro-spec VFR wheels are significantly lighter than US-spec wheels). Or maybe he’s just trying to maximize cash flow. I think new brake lines make sense; running nineteen-year-old rubber is probably pushing my luck a bit. I also plan to change the radiator hoses this year, as I seem to have a small, unseen coolant leak. Since I’m doing fresh lines with the pads, does it make any sense to tear down and rebuild the calipers at this juncture? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My thought is since you're going with all new, rehabbing the calipers is a good idea. Clean all that old gook out of there.
